Militants condemn Duterte, Cusi for oil crisis neglect
By Lloyd Jetender T. Manango
The League of Filipino Students (LFS) led a lightning rally on Tuesday, April 5 at the main office of the Department of Energy (DOE) in Bonifacio Global City to demand urgent action from the Duterte administration on the soaring prices of oil and electricity.
“We are in an economic emergency due to the nonstop increase in oil prices. President Duterte and DOE Secretary Cusi remain wilfully ignorant to this crisis while the masses suffer the inhumane costs of basic goods and services,” LFS National Chairperson Ivan Sucgang said in an interview.
This is the first time a mobilization was held on the site of the DOE office.
Intensifying Oil Crisis
Oil prices continue on its upward trajectory despite a few rollbacks, with the DOE recording a year-to-date increase of P18.30/liter for gasoline, P16.00/liter for gasoline, P26.00/liter for diesel and P24.10/liter for kerosene.
The rising prices of crude oil and coal also led to an estimated P12-P31 increase in monthly electricity costs, according to Meralco.
Consequently, Philippine oil companies implemented a rollback in oil prices on the day of the protest, amounting to a decrease of P2.30-P2.50/liter for gasoline, P1.85-P2.00/liter for diesel, P1.65/liter for kerosene.
Continued State Neglect
The LFS argued that rollbacks are only used by the Duterte administration to cover its inaction on the oil crisis, and clarified that the government has no regulatory power on oil prices due to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998.
“Duterte and Cusi are cowards hiding behind the momentary lulls in oil price hikes as they give the illusion of government action on the energy crisis while repeatedly ignoring the people’s demands for the immediate suspension of excise and value-added taxes on oil,” Sucgang explained.
In early March, Secretary Cusi drew flak from various groups after he pushed back against a declaration of an economic emergency amid the oil crisis worsened by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Ecumenical youth group Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) criticized Cusi’s excuses and the agency’s failure to stop the skyrocketing oil prices.
“We are disappointed with the DOE’s continued ‘exCUSIs’ amidst their failures in helping our fellow kababayans to get through financial hardships…they can suspend value added tax and excise tax, implement price freeze and moratorium on oil price hike. It is the humane thing to do amidst the continuing economic hardships brought by the government’s failed pandemic response” SCMP National Spokesperson Kej Andres said.
Stingy Ayuda
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) through Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) released a P5-billion fuel subsidy for the transport and agriculture and fisheries sector, which covers 370,000 drivers and an initial 158,730 corn farmers and fisherfolk.
However, the one-time P6,500 fuel voucher for drivers lasted for only around one week, according to transport group Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), and is not enough to match the increased operational costs of jeepneys due to high fuel prices.
“Yung P6,500 halos one week lang po na biyahe ng jeep. Aabot lang po sya ng halos walong araw kasi ang pinakamababang presyo ng krudo ng jeep ay umaabot ng P1,200 hanggang P1,300,” PISTON President Modesto Floranda said.
(The P6,500 [subsidy] is only good for around a week’s worth of jeepney operations. It barely lasts 8 days since the lowest fuel costs for jeepneys is as high as P1,200 to P1,300.)
